Wish Upon Delphinus
by skagengiirl
Summary: She doesn't wish upon a star... she wishes upon Delphinus. OOC. Slight spoiler for season three's final two episodes, Wannabe In the Weeds and Pain In the Heart, but set a long time after.


_Title: Wish Upon Delphinus_

_Author: skagengiirl_

_Rating: K+ for safety._

_Spoilers: Small one for Wannabe In the Weeds and Pain In the Heart._

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything :(_

_Summary: She doesn't wish upon a star… she wishes upon Delphinus_

_A/N: This is dedicated to my BFF Simone – nicknamed Butterfly and Angela, because she's the Angela of real life :P_

_The explanation on how I got the idea for this is at the end of the story._

--BB is LOVE--

He walked through the empty halls of the Jeffersonian Institute, ready to drag his partner out of her office. He knew she hadn't eaten anything yet since lunch, which he also had to drag her out to eat.

They hadn't had a case for a week, so every day at lunchtime, Booth made his way to the Jeffersonian to drag her out to eat with him. Around seven at night, he headed out for the day and went to the Jeffersonian again and take her out to dinner.

But as he neared his partner's office and heard someone sniffle; followed by a sob, he knew they weren't going anywhere tonight. He called Wong Foo's and ordered their usual to be delivered to the Jeffersonian.

He hung up and went to Brennan's office, knocking on the door, before entering. He saw her quickly close down her laptop and wipe away her tears, before turning around to face him from her spot on the couch.

"Hey." She croaked out, forcing a small smile. "I just need to get my things and then we can go."

She got up and went over to her desk, getting her things together. Booth just looked at her at first, trying to figure out what could make her so upset. She had been okay, when they'd gone to lunch earlier that day. What had happened between the few hours they'd been apart?

He stepped closer to her, putting a hand on her back. She stopped what she was doing, but didn't turn to face him.

"Bones." He said. "Are you okay?"

She knew that even if she lied, he'd see past that, so she just decided to tell the truth. "No." She croaked out.

He took a hold of one of her hands and made her turn around. He looked directly in her eyes and could see the sorrow in her blue depths. Had someone died? A tear streamed down her cheek and he reached up to wipe it away with his thumb.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I-I…" She found that she had a hard time speaking. She sniffled, looking down for a few seconds, before looking into her partner's warm eyes. "It suddenly feels so silly." She shook her head and looked down again.

"Temperance."

She darted her eyes up to meet his again by hearing him say her name. She bit her lip, working hard not to give in, but she knew she was failing.

"You know you can tell me anything. I'm not judging." He paused. "I'm only here for you."

Still holding onto his hand, she led the way to the couch and sat down, pulling Booth with her. She opened up her laptop and showed him the pictures that just made her so angry that she started to cry.

"Look at what they're doing to them." She said, starting to get upset again. "They're killing them. They're well on the way of being extinct."

Booth looked at the pictures she was showing him. The water was red because of all the blood. Dolphins' heads were cut off. Harpoons and spears were stuck into them, killing them. Whales and dolphins were lying dead on the beach, cut up with their intestines pouring out of them.

"Within the past hour I've adopted a dolphin and her calf, donated money and ordered shirts. But I just…" She trailed off and closed the laptop again. "I want to do more. I don't feel like it's enough."

"Bones." He put his hand on her cheek and made her look back at him. Tears were apparent in her eyes again. "You're doing what you can. There's not much else you can do."

He paused, waiting for a response and when she didn't offer one, he continued. "You can't save the world, Bones. But by doing what you're doing… you're at least helping. Even in our line of work. Every time we solve a case, we're saving other people. It's a good thing that you're involved, that you're appalled by this. But I bet that each day someone new is finding out about this and is just as appalled and wants to help, too."

She looked at him for a few beats. "Yeah, you're probably right." She said, wiping the rest of her tears away. She sighed. "I feel so silly."

"Don't, Bones. Everyone would understand why you care so much." He paused. "Your love for dolphins was something you shared with your mother. It's understandable that you're so moved and passionate about saving them."

The mentioning of her mother made her look down to the floor. She'd never really talked to anyone about her mother. It'd hurt too much. It made her long for her even more – long for her hugs, her sweet voice, her reassurance and just… everything! She missed her so much and she felt like she was losing another part of her, because of all these dolphin slaughters.

She opened her laptop again to turn it off, planning on just getting the rest of her things together and leave with Booth. She got up, her laptop in her hand, and went to her desk.

"So, the Diner?" She asked, not looking at him.

"I called for Thai." He looked at his watch. "It should be here in 15 minutes. I figured you didn't feel like going out."

She stopped packing her things, letting out a silent 'oh', before flopping into her desk chair. She leaned her head back on the backrest and crossed her arms over her chest, sighing. She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling tired.

She must have dozed off for a bit, because before she knew it, she woke up to the amazing smell of Thai food. Booth was in the middle of setting everything up on the coffee table in front of her couch. She smiled thinking of a better place to eat than her office. She got up and went over to her partner, putting a hand on his arm, stopping him.

"I know a better place." She said, smiling.

--BB is LOVE--

She went up the stairs carrying a blanket, two glasses and cider they'd picked up on the way. She opened the door and held it open for Booth, who was carrying the food. It didn't take long for Booth to realize they were on the roof of the Jeffersonian. The night sky had never been so clear. The moon and the stars were shining so bright, like he'd never seen before.

"This is amazing." Booth said, mesmerized by the sky.

Brennan smiled, laying out the blanket. "I come here when I need some time alone." She took the box of food and put it on the ground and sat down. Booth sat down as well. "If you don't know where I am… this is most likely the place I'll be."

"So, all those times I've looked all over the Jeffersonian to try and find you, all I had to do was to go to the roof?"

Brennan smirked. "Probably, yeah."

They started eating, making small talk.

Everything about this felt so different from any other night they'd spent together. They were learning new things about each other, discovering new sides. Brennan felt weird to already be smiling after having a mental breakdown in her office. But this was what Booth did to her.

Later, they were lying on the blanket and looking up at the stars in silence.

"What was she like?" Booth asked, breaking it.

Brennan turned her head and locked her eyes with him. "Who?"

"Your mother."

Her eyes darkened and she moved her head away again, looking up at the stars. No one had ever asked her about her mother. No one had cared enough. She'd always known that Booth was different, though. She just never thought he'd actually ask. She always thought he'd give her time, to let her open up to him by herself.

"Why do you wanna know?" She asked after a while.

Booth was still looking at her. "You never talk about her. You talk about your father, your brother… but never your mother."

She moved her head back towards him, locking her eyes on his for a brief moment, before looking down.

"She was…"

She frowned. It was difficult to describe her mother. No one had ever really understood the relationship she'd had with her. But since Booth was Booth, and he could understand practically anything, she decided to give it a try

"She was my best friend." She started. "I never trusted anyone but her. Never wanted to." She paused, swallowing. "She was happy. She cared about the world." She stopped and locked eyes with Booth again. "She would've loved you."

Booth smiled. "Really?"

She looked back up at the sky and started to make out constellations. She could make out Cassiopeia, Cepheus and one she hadn't seen in quite a while. She startled Booth by smacking her hand against his arm and pointing up to the sky with the other.

"Booth, do you see that?" She said. He looked, but couldn't find exactly what she was pointing at. "Those five stars? Four of them are forming this kind of crooked square with the last star forming a tail behind the square?"

Booth was still frowning in confusion, his eyes darting all over the sky – near her finger – to try and find the crooked square with a tail. She edged closer to even their eye level to the sky. Their sides and heads were touching.

She adjusted her finger. "There."

The frown disappeared. "Oh, yeah." He said.

She let her arm fall down to her side again. "That's Delphinus." She said, not moving her eyes from the constellation.

She connected the stars over and over again, before settling her eyes on the brightest star of the six that formed Delphinus. Six stars. As a kid she'd always loved one of the two stories behind the constellation.

The Greek god Poseidon, who wanted to marry a Nereid, named Amphitrite. Unfortunately Amphitrite wanted to protect her virginity and fled to the Atlas Mountains. Poseidon then proceeded to send out several searchers, including a Delphinus. Delphinus stumbled upon Amphitrite accidentally and convinced her to accept Poseidon's wooing. In gratitude, Poseidon placed the image of a dolphin among the stars.

Thinking about the story now, re-telling it in her head, it made her notice that Amphitrite reminded her of herself. Amphitrite ran away from a perfectly well-suited man – if you could call Poseidon a man. All her life Brennan had run away from every man that had ever paid any attention to her, except for Booth. But that was different – they were partners… friends. And maybe something more?

"You okay?" Booth asked, looking at her again.

She nodded. "Yeah." She looked at him and gave a genuine smile. "Thanks, Booth."

"Anytime, Bones. We're friends and friends… help each other."

She noticed that he'd said 'friends' this time. Not just partners. She smiled at that. He'd always said 'partners'.

Booth looked back up towards the sky, while Brennan kept her eyes upon him. She had this warm feeling inside her. She was wondering what it meant. She was wondering what the past week could mean. She'd noticed that the past week had been different from any other week.

When Booth would take her out for lunch or dinner, he wouldn't just come to the Jeffersonian to drag her out to eat. He'd ask her earlier in the day by text messaging or giving her a call. She didn't think it was because he was trying to be polite, because come on. Four years of working with each other and being dragged out of the lab to eat almost every day and then suddenly he's polite? No. Not a possibility. It felt like something else, something that had caused this feeling inside her to erupt.

"Booth?" She said, catching his attention. "Can I ask you a question?"

He didn't turn to look at her. He kept his eyes focused on the night sky. "Sure, Bones. Anything."

"Are we dating?"

Booth froze. His eyes were as big as they could get. Seconds passed. He jerked his head toward her. Was she really asking him this? Aw, man. He didn't know how to answer to that. He didn't even know the answer, so how could he answer her?

"Honestly, Bones… I don't know." He said, shaking his head.

Seconds passed as they were just looking at each other. Then they both looked up at the sky again – both of them watching Delphinus. Booth wondered if Brennan wanted to be dating him. If he knew her well enough, which he did, she'd be confused – really confused. She wouldn't know what she wanted.

"Do you want us to be dating?" Brennan then asked in a whispering tone.

This made Booth prop himself up on one of his elbows, facing her. "Do you?"

She looked at him. God, this was so frustrating! She wanted it. She wanted to be dating Booth, but the fact that they were partners, and they were more than likely going to get new ones if they got involved romantically, was keeping her from actually pursuing what she wanted. In the back of her mind she could hear Angela's voice saying: "Forget the fact that he's your partner. Forget about work for just a minute and listen to your heart – not your head. If you want this, you should go for it. Take a chance."

_Give it a chance_, she then thought to herself. But there were still doubts in her mind that still kept her from following the heart that was somehow overpowering her mind, little by little. Why couldn't she be like Angela and just listen to the part of her that was throbbing life into her? Booth was supposed to be _in_ her heart, right? So, why couldn't she just say 'yes' and get it over with?

"I don't know." She said, her voice cracking a bit at the end.

"Temperance."

He leaned closer, brushing a stray lock of hair away from her face. He kept his hand on her cheek and caressed it. Once again he was lost in her eyes. It was happening more often these days. Sometimes those eyes scared him. How could they be so blue? He could just swim in them. He really admired her unusual natural beauty. He'd never seen beauty like this.

"If there's a part of you that want to say yes, then say it… even if there's just a slightest part of you that's having doubts."

She looked down for just a few brief seconds, while licking her lips. She then looked up again and gave the slightest nod.

"Yes." She whispered ever so softly, barely audible.

She then looked away again, first down and then up to the evening sky, settling her eyes upon Delphinus once again. This move was a sign to Booth that showed that she needed just a little bit of space, before she got too overwhelmed. He removed his hand and lay back down on his back also settling his eyes on Delphinus. He took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers. She smiled slightly.

Suddenly a shooting star ran across the constellation that they were both watching. Booth then looked back at his partner, smiling slightly and said:

"Make a wish."

This made Brennan look back at him with one thought in her mind. _Take a chance._ She then leaned forward, her eyes still locked with his until they were mere millimeters apart. Eyes closed, hands still intertwined, lips met in the sweetest of kisses they'd ever shared with anyone.

_I wish to keep my partner._

--BB is LOVE--

_A/N: This idea came to me one night I was sitting and actually crying over the things that people do to dolphins and whales, killing them as if they were meaningless to the world. It's horrible what they do and I just can't get over it. I thought that since Brennan cares so much for animals – and especially dolphins – it would be okay in character. Not completely in character, but still… acceptable, right?_

_Please, if you care about animals, if you care about this planet, do what you can to save it. Visit __.__ to read more and maybe adopt a dolphin? Visit __.com__ and __.com/whalesrevenge__ for other – and more "hip" – merchandise, such as messenger bags, T-shirts and sweatshirts with cool designs or reusable shopping bag, bumper stickers, stainless-steel water bottles, T-shirts and caps with the Whaleman logo or "Save the Dolphins" printed on the front._

"_It's our future. Take a stand! It's time to save the whales again." –Save the Whales Again motto._

_Please review! =)_


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